Broadcaster Ron Franklin remembers Bum Phillips

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You’ve presumably read John McClain’s account of the day Bud Adams fired Bum Phillips, bringing the Oilers’ “Luv Ya Blue” era to an end. I picked up another account of the day Saturday from former Oilers radio announcer and Channel 11 and 2 sportscaster Ron Franklin.

“The phone rang just before noon, and I heard a voice saying, ‘Well, I guess you’ve heard,’” Franklin said. “I said, ‘What, Bum?’ and he said, ‘The SOB fired me. I said, ‘Bum, you’ve got to be kidding.’ He said, ‘Do me a favor, I’ve got to get in touch with (his wife) Helen and the girls, but meet me later at the barn – and bring a six-pack.’”

The barn, Franklin said, was located near Phillips’ home and was a frequent meeting place for the coach. Franklin arrived as instructed, and a few minutes later he saw Phillips’ Columbia blue and white pickup truck in the Oilers’ colors drive up.

“I remember thinking that this is not one conversation that I’m going to initiate,” Franklin said. “He walked in, popped open a beer, downed it in one gulp, and then he stroked that flat-top haircut and said – and I can’t use the exact words – ‘You know what really gets me, Ronnie? Every bleeping thing I own is in blue.’”

Clearly, that broke the tension, and the old friends talked for a while before they agreed that Franklin should do one last episode of “The Bum Phillips Show” from the coach’s house.

Another of Franklin’s favorite stories involves the time after the 1978 season that Phillips and Earl Campbell were invited to Dallas for an awards presentation. Campbell got his award first and gave a brief acceptance speech, and when Phillips received his award, he walked away from the microphone, walked to where Campbell was sitting, put the plaque in front of him and then walked back to the mike and said, “I always believe in paying my debts.”

Franklin, who moved to Austin in the mid-80s, could tell Phillips stories for hours. Another good one involves the times that he would ask Franklin and his cameraman to accompany him and his friends as they rode their cutting horses to work with sheep on a ranch near San Angelo during Oilers training camp. He said Phillips would then watch the footage, much as he would watch film of Oilers practice, to grade his performance.

Amid the funny stories, Franklin admitted Saturday that he very much mourns the loss of arguably Houston’s most memorable sports figure.

“His memory will be with me longer than most anyone I know other than (former TV anchor) Ron Stone,” Franklin said. “He was really a buddy, really a friend, and he was a caring person behind that wonderful face. He had a heart of gold, and I loved him.”